The present invention relates to systems for navigating within a computer system and more particularly to graphical user interface navigation systems for intuitively navigating within a personal computer system.
Personal computers, originally developed in the 1970's, gave a large population access to computers The original personal computers were controlled by operating systems such as the CP/M operating system supplied by Digital Research and similar to the Disc Operating System (DOS) supplied by Microsoft. A user interacted with these computers by typing purely verbal predetermined commands into the computer. A user accessed information within the computer system (i.e., navigated through the system) by typing commands which instructed the computer run software programs, to change directories and to view directories.
In response to these systems and in,an attempt to make computer use more intuitive, graphical user interfaces (GUI) operating systems which included personal computer navigation systems were developed. These GUI systems are exemplified by the System 7 operating system which runs on Apple Macintosh computers and by the Microsoft Windows operating environment which runs on IBM compatible personal computers. These GUI systems use navigation systems which include iconic representations of files and programs. These programs also include representations of virtual file systems to metaphorically represent files which are stored in the computer. For example, the Apple Macintosh system uses files inside of folders inside of other folders or disks to represent applications and documents; a user navigates between these folders by clicking on these folders with a cursor positioning device such as a mouse.
Handheld personal computer systems such as the Sony Palmtop system, available from Sony Corporation, having an office located in Tokyo, Japan or the Go PenPoint system, available from Go Corporation having an office located in Foster City, Calif., have evolved as the next generation of personal computers. In these handheld personal computer systems, operating systems allow a user to navigate within the system by providing a metaphor of a notebook having pages which are separated by dividers. The dividers are used to section off parts of the notebook from other parts of the notebook. A user navigates through such a system by touching the area of the screen that has the representation of the divider that the user wants to access.
Other programs which run on personal computers use physical representations of objects to allow a user to navigate among the objects. For example, these programs use a metaphor of doors to allow a user to enter a room containing objects. Once within a room, the objects may be viewed more closely by focusing attention on the object, e.g., by clicking on the object using a cursor manipulation device. In these programs, the physical representations represent the logical movement of the user within the program. These programs tend to fall into two categories: the adventure game category and the educational category.
For example, in the adventure game category, a user maneuvers through a representation of a physical space which might include buildings, hallways and rooms. The physical space representation represents the arena in which the game is being played. When maneuvering through this space, a user enters a room by performing some action on the doorway representing the entrance to the room. When the user enters the room, objects which are used in playing the game may be present in the room as set forth by the program.
In the educational category, a user maneuvers through a physical space that is a representation of an actual physical space. For example, a user might navigate through a museum. As the user moves through the hallways of the museum, the user may enter a room by performing an action on the door to the room. Once in the room, the user may view more information about an object within the room by performing an action on the object.
These programs are generally non-extensible as a user cannot add more objects or rooms to the program. Additionally, while these programs graphically represent objects within the program, they are not, a comprehensive representation of objects that are stored within the computer or accessible by the computer. Additionally, because these are programs that run on a computer, and not a high level navigation system which is part of the system software of the computer system, a user must still navigate through the computer system to access the program which includes the physical representations of objects.